Review

‘Tuner’ Review: Indie Heist Flick Hits the Right Notes

The piano-fication of “Baby Driver.”

“Tuner” follows a young piano tuner (Leo Woodall) who begins to use his perfect-pitch skills to crack safes. Havana Rose Liu, Lior Raz, Tovah Feldshuh, Jean Reno, and Dustin Hoffman also star, while Daniel Roher directs.

I like films like “The Outfit,” “The Accountant,” and “Baby Driver” that follow a person with either a disability or workman skill, and they implement it toward helping criminals. “Tuner” could have maybe benefited from leaning a little more into its heist aspect, but warm character dynamics and some sleek production make it worth a watch.

I liked Leo Woodall in last year’s “Nuremberg,” he has a calm screen presence and sympathetic demenior. Here he is able to portray a person who has overcome their hearing impairment to still work in the world of music that was robbed from him because of his diagnosis, and he has natural chemistry with his mentor (Dustin Hoffman, a welcome treat to still be seeing on the big screen) and love interest, Havana Rose Liu.

Some of the editing can be a bit wonky, especially in the opening act, with several moments jump-cutting seemingly at random. I’m not sure if that was to try and portray Hoffman’s fading memory, but it does make your brain do a double take. That being said, the sound design is really impressive, with it putting us in Woodall’s shoes of a muffled sounds world of constant noise.

There are several intense sequences and some fun safe-cracking ones, though I wish there were a few more or at least lasted a little longer. We also get a pretty big plot point come into play in act three, seemingly at the expense of another that is never really tied together. Still, there is something aesthetically pleasing about hearing a safe click open.

“Tuner” is a simple movie that feels like it could have come out in 2013 (complimentary). It doesn’t reinvent the heist wheel or have any particularly memorable moments, but thanks to a well-cast group of actors and some nifty sound design, it’s an entertaining watch that finds just the right pitch.

Critics Rating: 7/10

Black Bear Productions

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